Running Towards Fitness

Personal Awareness
The ancient Greeks used to believe that a healthy mind and a healthy body not only went together, but were both critical for happiness and a successful life. They were also intertwined, meaning that a weakness in either area would affect the other. When I started this transformation I was overweight and full of excuses. And by overweight I don't mean just a few pounds - I weighed over 70 pounds more than I do now. I finally took my life into my own hands and started exercising. At the time, I had no idea where it would lead - to a stronger body, a happier, more nimble mind, and a chest full of race medals. Healthy mind, healthy body, indeed! It hasn't been easy, or without issues, but I wouldn't trade the experience for the world.

Slow Speedwork

This morning's workout was way more effort for way less speed than I would have wanted.  I know that part of that is because its really humid (indeed, most people other than Jay were off their pace today), and part of it is due to the fact that I was working through ...

Jack’s Generic Triathlon

I'm not sure if this is a good motivation or a sign of lingering pain medication, but a buddy of mine just called me and asked me how I was doing in the gym (among other things).  The answer?  Well, pretty much nothing.  For some reason, got us talking about ...

Congratulations

I just wanted to take a minute to congratulate Carrie who came in 5th in her age group despite a slower-than-expected swim at the recent Marble Falls triathlon.  Way to go!  Her oveall time of 2:13:23.5 included a 4.4 mile run at a 7:09 pace, the fastest time in that group, ...

Not so long run

I decided to try to make it out for a run today; not bad considering that I hadn't managed one all week.  We were told to do the Grove loop, 14 or so miles, and headed out in a solid mass.  I was feeling pretty light-headed but my jaw was ...

Weight Loss Challenge

Well, okay, since NYC last November I've realized that I've let myself go a bit.  Not just in mileage, but in weight.  I was recently discussing this with Thon, who had a similar lament.  We realized that we had something in common; we were both about the same height, both ...

Still not Running

Right now, between pain or medication (my only two options), driving hasn't been a real good idea.  I'm thinking about getting up early tomorrow morning to see if I can get out for a run -- but we'll see how it goes.  Either way, I'm back under the drill tomorrow ...

Ouch

One dentist visit down, one to go.  Today, at least.  It turns out that while most of my teeth are fine, one had an infection.  This afternoon I have an appointment with a root canal specialist.  Oh, what fun that will be, I'm sure.  Until then, I'm on antibiotics and ...

No Pace Run for Me

I was really looking forward to tomorrow morning's pace run.  Seriously!  But right now, as of about 4pm this afternoon, I've had a toothache that's been getting steadily worse despite increasing doses of medication.  Right now, I'm doped up enough that I don't think that driving (or running (or much ...

Dry Gulch Saloon

Boy, was it hot today.  And humid.  The kind of combination heat that makes Phoenix natives admit, "Wow, Texas is hotter than Arizona."  Just a quick update today: We ran a bit over 15 miles up to Mt. Bonnell, then over the top and down the other side, to the old ...

Tempo Race aka Chasing Amy

Damn, but today was hot.  And tiring.  Well, I don't know if it was tiring so much as I was tired doing it.  I seriously thought about staying home, but decided that I needed to do the workout like I had planned since I missed it on Wednesday; then Thon ...


About

I'm Richard Stanford, a fit, happy runner. Of course, that wasn't always the case. Dip into the archives to follow my progress from couch potato to sub-four hour marathoner.

I also like to cook, write, code, and play with power tools...

Personal Records

DistanceRaceTimePace
Marathon2006 Freescale3:54:078:56
20 Miles2006 RunTex3:00:089:00
30K2005 RunTex2:42:448:45
Half M2006 3M1:42:577:51
20K2005 Decker1:40:428:06
10 Miles2005 Pervasive1:20:138:01
10K2005 Dublin Dr Pepper48:437:51
5 Miles2005 Turkey Trot37:017:24
5K2005 Margarita Run22:327:15
4K2006 Fila Relays17:247:15
1 Mile2006 Congress Ave6:236:23

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May 20th 2007
Tags: Running, Races

One Comment

2007 North Trail Half Marathon

I'll start out by saying that this wasn't a PR.  Not even close.  It was, however, a really fun race, taking place in the middle of a fun weekend, surrounded by fun friends. Fun! Going into it I knew that I wasn't going to PR.  To be honest, I was more than ...
May 19th 2007
Tags: Running

No Comments

Update

Well, so much for keeping the blog current, eh? I've been doing pretty well, most of the time. I'm currently in Dallas just a few hours away from running in a small half marathon (400 people, give or take) - and I've only managed to get up to 10.5 miles ...
April 10th 2007
Tags: Running

No Comments

Lunchtime Ladera

This was my third time to run Ladera Norte, and its actually getting easier.  I walked once, about 3 minutes into the hill, for a minute (timed), then ran the rest of the way.  Not that I was fast - the remainder took me a solid 5 minutes - but I ...
March 4th 2007
Tags: Running, Races

9 Comments

2007 BagelFest 5K

I'm very glad that I did this race.  I almost didn't - the idea of doing something where I know that I wasn't going to come close to a PR was not terribly enticing - but I've done it every year since I started running, and its been a whole ...
March 1st 2007
Tags: Running

One Comment

Unplanned 3 Miler

Well... I know that I said that I wasn't goint to run today... but I did anyway.  You see, at lunch today Thon offered to run his 3 mile hill loop with me this evening.  Naturally I stuck to the gameplan and told him that I wasn't running until Saturday.  ...
February 27th 2007
Tags: Running

One Comment

Rollingwood Revisited

I went to Rollingwood for the second time - or at least the second time since my recovery - and while ended up running a slightly different course due to inattention, it was a fantastic run.  Last time I averaged a 9:41 pace (9:54, 9:30, 9:46) around the hills, and it felt ...

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Famous Marathon Times

RunnerTimePace
Al Gore4:58:2511:23
Oprah4:29:3010:17
P. Diddy4:14:549:43
Will Ferrell3:56:129:01
George W. Bush3:44:528:35
John Edwards3:30:188:01
Carrie Sapp3:29:067:59
Boston Qualifier3:10:597:17
Lance Armstrong2:59:366:51
Gilbert Tuhabonye2:23:075:28
Paula Radcliffe2:15:255:10
Paul Tegat2:04:554:46

People I Train With

Alex - Addicted to Exercise
Carrie - Tri to be Funny
Erine - Thousand Miles
Frank - Running Blog
Gilbert - Gilbert's Gazelles
Jay - Leotian Blog
Mike - BROTH